Energy consumption often presents a significant cost to companies. However, typical ways to measure energy consumption lack the ability to identify or pinpoint energy consumption deficiencies in commercial buildings. The standard methods of energy consumption analysis used by the Department of Energy's Energy Star program and the general engineering community typically rely on heating and cooling degree days to approximate energy consumption. In the U.S., the degree day unit of measure estimates the demand for energy required for heating or cooling using the typical standard outdoor air temperature of 65° F. (18.3° C.). For each 1° F. decrease or increase from this standard in the average outside temperature, one heating or cooling degree day is recorded. For instance, if the average mean outside temperature for a day was 60° F., it records as 5 heating degree days (HDD); if it was 70° F., it records as 5 cooling degree days (CDD). Although this method may be utilized for analyzing the total energy consumption in a 24 hour period, this method typically does little to explain how that energy was consumed in that 24 hour period. For instance, the degree day method of energy consumption analysis typically makes no correlation between the instantaneous building heating and/or cooling loads and the performance of the mechanical systems in the facility.
Some studies have represented energy consumption in a scatter pattern based on outdoor temperature and KW or kilowatts, but there is still a need to improve the measurement of energy consumption and utilize the findings.